How many species are there in the order Proboscidea? Evolution of proboscideans

Distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. However, the range that was continuous in the past is now broken. The African elephant is not found in most of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Ethiopia; completely disappeared from Northern Somalia. From Sudan to the west, the range boundary now approximately coincides with 12° N. sh., however, certain isolated areas of the range are preserved further north (near Lake Chad, Mali, Mauritania).

The body length reaches 6-7.5 m, the height at the shoulders (the highest point of the body) is 2.4-3.5 m. Average weight bodies in females are 2.8 tons, in males - 5 tons.

They inhabit a wide variety of landscapes (with the exception of tropical forests and deserts) up to 3660 m above sea level, occasionally found up to 4570 m above sea level. The main requirements for the habitat are the availability of food, the presence of shade and the availability of fresh water, from which elephants, however, can move more than 80 km.

They are active both during the day and at night, but activity decreases during the hottest hours. In areas with high activity, people switch to a nocturnal lifestyle. According to observations, during the day, the African elephant spends 13% of its time resting, 74% on feeding, 11% on transitions and 2% on other activities. Peak feeding occurs in the morning.

Elephants have poor vision (at a distance of no more than 20 m), but they have an excellent sense of smell and hearing. Communication uses a large number of visual signals and touches, as well as a wide repertoire of vocalizations, including the well-known loud trumpet sounds. Research has shown that elephant calls contain infrasonic components (14-35 Hz), making them audible over long distances (up to 10 km). Overall cognitive and perceptual abilities African elephants less studied than those of Asia.

Despite their massive build, elephants are surprisingly agile. They swim well or move along the bottom of a reservoir with only their trunk above the water. They usually move at a speed of 2-6 km/h, but at short time can reach speeds of up to 35-40 km/h. Elephants sleep standing up, gathered together in a dense group, only the cubs lie on their sides on the ground. Sleep lasts about 40 minutes.

They feed on plant food: leaves, branches, shoots, bark and roots of trees and shrubs; the proportions of food depend on the habitat and time of year. During the wet season, most of the diet consists of herbaceous plants such as papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) and cattail (Typha augustifolia). Old elephants feed mainly on swamp vegetation, which is less nutritious but softer; for this reason, dead elephants are often found in swamps (hence the legend of “elephant cemeteries” where they come to die). Elephants need daily watering and during the dry season they sometimes dig holes in the beds of dry rivers to collect water from aquifers. These watering holes are used not only by elephants, but also by other animals, including buffalos and rhinoceroses. One elephant consumes from 100 to 300 kg of food per day (5% own weight) and drinks 100-220 liters of water. African elephants also need salt, which is either found on licks or dug out of the ground.

In search of food and water, the African elephant can travel up to 500 km; on average, it covers a distance of about 12 km per day. In the past, the length of seasonal migrations of African elephants reached 300 km. Almost all migrations of elephants followed a general pattern: at the beginning of the rainy season - from permanent reservoirs, in the dry season - back. Off-season, shorter migrations occurred between water and food sources. The animals followed their usual routes, leaving behind clearly visible trampled paths. Currently, migrations of African elephants are limited due to increased human activity, as well as the concentration of the bulk of the elephant population in protected areas.

Elephants lead a nomadic lifestyle. They travel in stable groups, which in the past reached 400 animals. The herd usually contains 9-12 animals belonging to the same family: an old female (matriarch), her offspring and older daughters with immature cubs. The female matriarch determines the direction of the nomad movement, decides when the herd should feed, rest or swim. She leads the herd until she is 50-60 years old, after which she is succeeded by the oldest female. Sometimes the family also includes one of the matriarch's sisters and her offspring. Males are usually expelled or leave the herd when they reach sexual maturity (9-15 years), after which they lead a solitary lifestyle, sometimes gathering in temporary herds. Males contact matriarchal families only during estrus of one of the females. When a family gets too big, it splits up. Herds can temporarily unite (Serengeti, Tanzania), observations have shown that some families of African elephants have special relationships and spend significant time together. In general, elephants are sociable and do not avoid each other.

Research in Lake Manyara National Park (Tanzania) has shown that individual elephant families stick to certain areas without roaming throughout the park. While not territorial, elephants, however, stick to their feeding areas, which are favorable conditions vary from 15 to 50 km 2. The home ranges of single males are much larger, up to 1500 km 2 . The largest areas are recorded for elephants from Kaokoveld (Namibia), where annual precipitation is only 320 mm: 5800-8700 km 2.

Communication within the herd takes many forms, including sound signals, touching and various poses. Collective behavior includes joint care of offspring and protection from predators. Family members are extremely attached to each other. Thus, when elephants from the same family unite after several days of separation, their meeting is accompanied by a welcoming ceremony, which sometimes lasts up to 10 minutes. At the same time, the elephants show great excitement: they emit loud cries, intertwine their trunks and cross their tusks, flap their ears, urinate, etc. If the parting was short, the ceremony is reduced to flapping the ears, trumpet “greetings” and touching the trunk. There are cases when elephants took wounded relatives away from danger, supporting them on their sides. Elephants apparently have some idea of ​​death - judging by their behavior, they, unlike other animals, recognize the corpses and skeletons of their relatives.

Fights in the herd are rare. Elephants demonstrate dominance and aggression by raising their heads and trunks, straightening their ears, digging their feet into the ground, shaking their heads and making demonstrative attacks on the enemy. Fights are usually limited to pushing and crossing tusks; only during fights for a female can males inflict serious and fatal wounds on each other with their tusks. A subordinate position is indicated by lowered head and ears.

Breeding is not associated with a specific season, but most calving occurs in the middle of the rainy season. During dry periods or in crowded habitats, sexual activity decreases and females do not ovulate. Males wander in search of females in estrus, staying with them for no more than a few weeks. Estrus in female elephants lasts about 48 hours, during which time she calls males with cries. Usually, before mating, the male and female are removed from the herd for some time.

Elephants have the longest pregnancy among mammals - 20-22 months. The female brings 1 developed cub, twins are rare (only 1-2% of births). A newborn elephant calf weighs 90-120 kg with a shoulder height of about 1 m, its trunk is short, and there are no tusks. Childbirth takes place at a distance from the rest of the herd, and the giving birth female is often accompanied by a “midwife.” 15-30 minutes after birth, the baby elephant rises to its feet and can follow its mother. Until the age of 4, he needs maternal care; he is also looked after by young immature females 2-11 years old, who thus prepare for the role of mother.

Young females remain in their herd for life, males leave it upon reaching maturity, which usually occurs between 10 and 12 years. Elephants show the greatest diversity in timing of sexual maturity among mammals: the minimum recorded age for females is 7 years. In unfavorable conditions, females reach sexual maturity at 18-19 or even 22 years. The peak of fertility also varies greatly depending on the habitat: from the age of 18-19 years (Luangwa River valley, Zambia) to 31-35 years (Northern Bunyoro, Uganda). Elephants remain fertile until they are 55-60 years old, giving birth to 1-9 cubs throughout their lives. In males, sexual maturity occurs at 10-12 years, but due to competition with older males, they begin to mate only at the age of 25-30 years, reaching a reproductive peak by 40-50 years.

African elephants live to be 60-70 years old, continuing to grow slowly throughout their lives. In captivity, their age reached 80 years.

African forest elephant

African Forest Elephant

(Loxodonta cyclotis)

Distributed in Central Africa. As its name suggests, the African forest elephant lives in tropical forests basin of the Congo River and plays an important role in the dispersal of seeds of many plants.

The average height of a forest elephant at the withers is 2.4 m. Thus, it is significantly smaller than elephants living in the savannah. Also, the forest elephant has thicker brown hair and rounded ears. This elephant has stronger and longer tusks, which helps it push through dense forests.

Forest elephants stay small family groups from 2 to 8 individuals, consisting mainly of several females and their offspring. Males are expelled from the group when they reach maturity. Males lead a solitary lifestyle and only during the breeding season do they form groups with other elephants. Forest elephants do not have a distinct breeding season, but the peak occurs during the rainy seasons. Pregnancy lasts about 22 months, after which 1 baby is born; twins are extremely rare.

Asian elephant

Asian Elephant

(Elephas maximus)

Currently, the range of Indian elephants is highly fragmented; in the wild they are found in the countries of the Indo-Malayan biogeographic region: South and North-East India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, South-West China, Malaysia (mainland and on the island of Borneo), Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra) and Brunei.

The body length of the Indian elephant is 5.5-6.4 m, the tail is 1.2-1.5 m. They reach a weight of 5.4 tons with a height of 2.5-3.5 meters. Females are smaller than males, weighing on average 2.7 tons.

The Indian elephant is primarily a forest dweller. He prefers light tropical and subtropical broadleaf forests with a dense undergrowth of shrubs and especially bamboo. Previously, in the cool season, elephants went out into the steppes, but now this has become possible only in nature reserves, since outside them the steppe has almost everywhere been turned into agricultural land. In summer, along wooded slopes, elephants climb quite high into the mountains, meeting in the Himalayas at the border of eternal snow, at an altitude of up to 3600 m. Elephants move quite easily through swampy terrain and climb into the mountains.

Like other large mammals, elephants tolerate cold better than heat. They spend the hottest part of the day in the shade, continuously flapping their ears to cool the body and improve heat exchange. They love to take baths, pouring water over themselves and rolling around in dirt and dust; these precautions protect the elephants' skin from drying out, sunburn and insect bites. For their size, elephants are surprisingly agile and agile; they have an excellent sense of balance. If necessary, they check the reliability and hardness of the soil under their feet with blows from their trunk, but thanks to the structure of their feet, they are able to move even through marshy areas. An alarmed elephant can reach speeds of up to 48 km/h; at the same time, while running, the elephant raises its tail, signaling to its relatives about danger. Elephants are also good swimmers. The elephant spends most of its time searching for food, but the elephant needs at least 4 hours a day to sleep. They do not lie on the ground; the exception is sick elephants and young animals.

Elephants are distinguished by an acute sense of smell, hearing and touch, but their vision is weak - they see poorly at a distance of more than 10 m, somewhat better in shaded places. Elephants' hearing, due to their huge ears that serve as amplifiers, is much superior to humans. Elephants use numerous sounds, postures, and trunk gestures to communicate. Thus, a long trumpet call calls together the flock; a short, sharp, trumpet sound means fear; powerful blows on the ground with the trunk mean irritation and rage. Elephants have an extensive repertoire of calls, roars, grunts, squeals, etc., which signal danger, stress, aggression and greet each other.

Indian elephants are strict vegetarians and spend up to 20 hours a day foraging and feeding. Only during the hottest hours of the day do elephants seek shade to avoid overheating. The amount of food they eat daily ranges from 150 to 300 kg of various vegetation, or 6-8% of the elephant’s body weight. Elephants eat mainly grass; they also eat in some quantities the bark, roots and leaves of various plants, as well as flowers and fruits. Elephants tear off long grass, leaves and shoots with their flexible trunk; if the grass is short, they first loosen and dig up the soil with kicks. The bark from large branches is scraped off with molars, holding the branch with the trunk. Elephants willingly destroy agricultural crops, as a rule, rice, bananas and sugar cane, thus being the largest “pests” of agriculture.

The digestive system of the Indian elephant is quite simple; a capacious cylindrical stomach allows you to “store” food while symbiont bacteria ferment it in the intestines. The total length of the small and large intestines of the Indian elephant reaches 35 m. The digestion process takes about 24 hours; at the same time, only 44-45% of the food is actually absorbed. An elephant requires at least 70-90 (up to 200) liters of water per day, so they never move away from water sources. Like African elephants, they often dig in the ground in search of salt.

Due to the large amount of food they consume, elephants rarely feed in the same place for more than 2-3 days in a row. They are not territorial, but stick to their feeding areas, which reach 15 km 2 for males and 30 km 2 for gregarious females, increasing in size during the dry season.

Indian elephants are social animals. Females always form family groups consisting of a matriarch (the most experienced female), her daughters, sisters and cubs, including immature males. Sometimes there is one old male next to the herd. In the 19th century elephant herds, as a rule, consisted of 30-50 individuals, although there were also herds of up to 100 or more heads. Currently, herds consist primarily of 2-10 females and their offspring. The herd may temporarily break up into smaller groups that maintain contact through characteristic vocalizations containing low-frequency components. Small groups (less than 3 adult females) have been found to be more stable than large ones. Several small herds can form the so-called. clan.

Males usually lead a solitary lifestyle; only young males who have not reached sexual maturity form temporary groups not associated with female groups. Adult males only approach the herd when one of the females is in estrus. At the same time, they arrange mating fights; Most of the time, however, males are quite tolerant of each other, and their feeding territories often overlap. By the age of 15-20 years, males usually reach sexual maturity, after which they annually enter a state known as must (Urdu for "intoxication"). This period is characterized by very high level testosterone and, as a result, aggressive behavior. During must, an odorous black secretion containing pheromones is released from a special skin gland located between the ear and eye. Males even produce copious amounts of urine. In this state they are very excited, dangerous and can even attack a person. The must lasts up to 60 days; all this time, the males practically stop feeding and wander around in search of females in heat. It is curious that in African elephants must is less pronounced and first appears at a later age (from 25 years of age).

Reproduction can occur at any time of the year, regardless of the season. Females are in estrus for only 2-4 days; A complete estrous cycle lasts about 4 months. Males join the herd after mating fights - as a result, only mature dominant males are allowed to breed. Fights sometimes lead to serious injuries to opponents and even death. The winning male drives away other males and remains with the female for about 3 weeks. In the absence of females, young male elephants often exhibit homosexual behavior.

Elephants have the longest pregnancy among mammals; it lasts from 18 to 21.5 months, although the fetus is fully developed by 19 months and then only increases in size. The female brings 1 (rarely 2) cub weighing about 90-100 kg and height (at the shoulders) about 1 m. It has tusks about 5 cm long, which fall out by the age of 2, when milk teeth are replaced by adult ones. During calving, the remaining females surround the woman in labor, forming a protective circle. Soon after giving birth, the female defecates so that the baby remembers the smell of her feces. The baby elephant stands on its feet 2 hours after birth and immediately begins to suckle milk; the female, using her trunk, “sprays” dust and earth onto it, drying the skin and masking its smell from large predators. After a few days, the cub is already able to follow the herd, holding onto the tail of its mother or older sister with its trunk. All lactating females in the herd are involved in feeding the baby elephant. Milk feeding continues until 18-24 months, although the baby elephant begins to eat plant foods after 6-7 months. Elephant calves also eat their mother's feces - with their help, not only undigested feces are passed on to them. nutrients, but also symbiotic bacteria that help digest cellulose. Mothers continue to care for their offspring for several more years. Young elephants begin to separate from the family group by the age of 6-7 years and are finally expelled by 12-13 years.

In nature, Indian elephants live up to 60-70 years, in captivity - up to 80 years. Adult elephants do not have natural enemies; elephant calves can be attacked by tigers.

Diversity of representatives of the orders Proboscis and Callopods

Order Proboscis

Systematic position

Animal Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata Chordata

Class Mammals Mammalia

Order Proboscidea Proboscidea

Family Elephantidae Gray

African elephants (Loxodonta) Indian elephants (Elephas)

African forest elephant Indian elephant (Elephas maximus)

(Loxodonta cyclotis)

Savannah African elephant

(Loxodonta africana)

Elephant pedigree

Both the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus) and the African elephant (Loxodonta) and its two species:

The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and the African savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana) are descendants of Proboscidea, an ancient animal with a trunk.

Elephants living today are descended from two different ancestral branches that developed in parallel. Both of them developed when dinosaurs dominated the earth. It was then that Moeritheres appeared on the territory of modern Egypt - animals similar to tapirs. This happened in the Paleocene era (65 million years ago).

The structure of the skull and the arrangement of the teeth of these proboscideans were almost the same as those of the modern elephant, and the four teeth were the harbingers of modern tusks.

Another branch was represented by Deinotheridae, animals living in Africa and Eurasia. Being in favorable living conditions, all these animals over the next 26 million years spread throughout Africa and Eurasia, and over time, throughout North and South America.

Different climatic conditions and habitats have led to the emergence various types proboscis They lived everywhere - from the polar ice cap to the desert, including the tundra, taiga, and forests, as well as savannah and swamps.

Elephant Ancestors

Deinotherium(Deinotheridae) lived in the Eocene era (58 million years ago) and were very similar to modern elephants. They were much smaller, had a shorter trunk, and two tusks were curled down and back. These animals became extinct 2.5 million years ago.

Gomphotherium(Gomphoterium) lived in the Oligocene era (37 million years ago). They had an elephant body, but a vestigial trunk. The teeth were similar to those of modern elephants, but there were also four small tusks, two of which were curled up and two down. Some had a flat jaw, allowing them to scoop up swamp vegetation. Others had a much smaller jaw, but with highly developed tusks. Gomphotheres became extinct 10 thousand years ago.

From Gomphotherium in the Miocene-Pleistocene era (10-12 million years ago) originated Mamutids(Mammutidae), often called mastodons.

These animals were almost the same as elephants, but had a more powerful body, long tusks and a longer trunk. They also differed in the location of their teeth. Their eyes were much smaller, and their bodies had dense hair. It is assumed that mastodons lived in forests until primitive people came to the continent (18 thousand years ago).

Elephantids(Elephantidae) evolved from mastodons in the Pleistocene era (1.6 million years ago) and gave rise to the family Mammuthus, the closest family to prehistoric elephants, the huge, hairy mammoths and two lineages of modern elephants: Elephas and Loxodonta.

Mammuthusimperator lived in the southern part of North America and was the largest mammoth: 4.5 m at the withers.

The northern woolly mammoth, Mammuthus premigenius, lived in northern North America and is the most studied species, with several intact frozen specimens found and preserved to this day.

Woolly mammoths were slightly larger than modern elephants and protected themselves from the cold with long, dense, reddish fur and a subcutaneous layer of fat up to 76 mm thick. Their long tusks were curled downwards, forwards and inwards and served to tear apart the snow that covered the vegetation.

Mammoths went extinct about 10 thousand years ago during the last ice age. According to many scientists, Upper Paleolithic hunters played a significant or even decisive role in this extinction. In the mid-1990s, in the journal Nature one could read about a stunning discovery made on Wrangel Island. Reserve employee Sergei Vartanyan discovered the remains of mammoths on the island, the age of which was determined to be from 7 to 3.5 thousand years. It was subsequently discovered that these remains belonged to a special, relatively small subspecies that inhabited Wrangel Island at a time when Egyptian pyramids, and which disappeared only during the reign of Tutankhamun and the heyday of the Mycenaean civilization.

One of the latest, most massive and southernmost burials of mammoths is located in the Kargat region Novosibirsk region, in the upper reaches of the Bagan River in the Wolf Mane area. It is believed that there are at least one and a half thousand (1,500) mammoth skeletons here. Some of the bones bear traces of human processing, which allows us to build various hypotheses about the residence of ancient people in Siberia.

Order Proboscis

Proboscidea (lat. Proboscidea) - a order of placental mammals, owe their name to their main distinguishing feature - the trunk. The only representatives of proboscis today are the elephant family (Elephantidae). The extinct families of proboscis include mastodons (Mammutidae).

Proboscideans are distinguished not only by their trunk, but also by their unique tusks, as well as the largest size among all mammals on land. These peculiarities are by no means a hindrance, but, on the contrary, highly specialized adaptations. Once upon a time, many families of proboscis lived on earth, some of which had four tusks. Today there is only a family of elephants in a very limited living space.

Proboscis formations were barely noticeable at the beginning and served the ancestors of proboscis living in swamps as a means of breathing under water. Later, the trunks, with their many muscles, developed into sensitive grasping organs, which made it possible to tear leaves from trees and grass in the steppes. Tusks during evolution reached 4 meters and had various shapes.

The African and Indian elephant are all that remain today of their many ancestors.

Head African elephant in profile it looks sloping, in the form of a clearly defined angle; the spine rises from the head to the shoulder blades, then falls and rises again to the hips.

The Indian elephant has a pronounced brow ridge and a prominent bump on the top of its head with a cleft in the middle; the back is higher in the middle than in the area of ​​the shoulder blades and hips.

Indian elephant

A powerful, massive animal, with a large broad-browed head, short neck, powerful body and columnar legs. The Indian elephant is smaller than its African relative. Its mass does not exceed 5 tons, and its height at the shoulders is 2.5-3 m. Unlike the African elephant, only males have tusks, but they are also 2-3 times shorter than the tusks of their African relative. The ears of the Indian elephant are smaller, extended downwards and pointed.

Wild Indian elephants live in India, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Malacca, Sumatra and Sri Lanka. Due to the expansion of plantations and crops, the number of wild elephants is declining. Animals are destroyed as agricultural pests, despite the ban. The Indian elephant, like the African elephant, is included in the IUCN Red List.

The Indian elephant lives in forest thickets, usually keeping in family groups of 10-20 animals, sometimes there are herds of up to 100 or more individuals. The leader of the herd is usually an old female.

Unlike its African relative, the Indian elephant is easily tamed and easy to train. In hard-to-reach swampy areas, elephants are used as riding animals. The gazebo can accommodate 4 people on the animal’s back, not counting the mahout sitting on the elephant’s neck. Elephants are capable of carrying up to 350 kg of cargo. Trained elephants not only carry logs at logging sites, but also stack them in in a certain order, load and unload barges. Indian elephants are bought by zoos and circuses around the world.

Indian elephants are smaller in size than African savannah elephants, but their size is also impressive - old individuals (males) reach a weight of 5.4 tons with a height of 2.5 - 3.5 meters. Females are smaller than males, weighing on average 2.7 tons. The smallest subspecies is from Kalimantan (weight about 2 tons). By comparison, African savannah elephant weighs from 4 to 7 tons. The body length of the Indian elephant is 5.5-6.4 m, the tail is 1.2-1.5 m. The Indian elephant is more massive than the African one. The legs are thick and relatively short; the structure of the soles of the feet is reminiscent of that of the African elephant - under the skin there is a special springy mass. There are five hooves on the front legs and four on the hind legs. The body is covered with thick, wrinkled skin; Skin color ranges from dark gray to brown. The thickness of the skin of the Indian elephant reaches 2.5 cm, but is very thin on the inside of the ears, around the mouth and anus. The skin is dry and has no sweat glands, so caring for it is an important part of an elephant's life. By taking mud baths, elephants protect themselves from insect bites, sunburn and fluid loss. Dust baths, bathing and scratching on trees also play a role in skin hygiene. Indian elephants often have depigmented, pinkish areas on their body that give them a spotted appearance. Newborn elephant calves are covered with brownish hair, which fades and thins with age, but even adult Indian elephants are more covered with coarse hair than African ones.

Albinos are very rare among elephants and serve to a certain extent as an object of cult in Siam. They are usually only a little lighter and have a few even lighter spots. The best specimens were pale reddish-brown in color with a pale yellow iris and sparse white hair on the back.

The wide forehead, depressed in the middle and strongly convex on the sides, has an almost vertical position; its tubercles represent the highest point of the body (in the African elephant - the shoulders). The most characteristic feature What distinguishes the Indian elephant from the African one is the relatively smaller size of the ears. The Indian elephant's ears never rise above the level of the neck. They are medium in size, irregularly quadrangular in shape, with a slightly elongated tip and an inward-turned upper edge. The tusks (elongated upper incisors) are significantly, 2-3 times, smaller than those of the African elephant, up to 1.6 m long, weighing up to 20-25 kg. Over the course of a year of growth, the tusk increases by an average of 17 cm. They develop only in males, rarely in females. Among Indian elephants there are males without tusks, which in India are called makhna. Such males are especially common in the northeastern part of the country; The population of Sri Lanka has the largest number of tuskless elephants (up to 95%)

Just as people are right-handed and left-handed, different elephants the right or left tusk is more often used. This is determined by the degree of wear of the tusk and its more rounded tip.

In addition to tusks, an elephant has 4 molars, which are replaced several times during their life as they wear out. When replaced, new teeth grow not under the old ones, but further on the jaw, gradually pushing the worn teeth forward. An Indian elephant's molars change 6 times during its life; the latter erupt at about 40 years of age. When the last teeth are worn down, the elephant loses the ability to eat normally and dies from starvation. As a rule, this occurs by age 70.

The elephant's trunk is a long process formed by the nose and upper lip fused together. Complex system muscles and tendons gives it greater flexibility and mobility, allowing the elephant to manipulate even small objects, and its volume allows it to take up to 6 liters of water. The septum (septum), which divides the nasal cavity, also consists of numerous muscles. The elephant's trunk is devoid of bones and cartilage; a single piece of cartilage is found at its end, dividing the nostrils. Unlike the African elephant, the trunk ends in a single dorsal digitiform process.

The differences between the Indian elephant and the African elephant are a lighter color, medium-sized tusks, which are found only in males, small ears, a convex humpbacked back without a “saddle,” two bulges on the forehead and a single finger-like process at the end of the trunk. Differences in the internal structure also include 19 pairs of ribs instead of 21, like in the African elephant, and structural features of the molars - transverse dentin plates in each tooth in the Indian elephant from 6 to 27, which is more than in the African elephant. There are 33 caudal vertebrae, instead of 26. The heart often has a double apex. Females can be distinguished from males by two mammary glands located on the chest. The elephant's brain is the largest among land animals and reaches a weight of 5 kg.

Lifestyle

The Indian elephant is more of a forest dweller than the African elephant. It prefers light tropical and subtropical broad-leaved forests with a dense undergrowth of shrubs and especially bamboo. Previously, in the cool season, elephants went out into the steppes, but now this has become possible only in nature reserves, since outside them the steppe has almost everywhere been turned into agricultural land. In summer, along wooded slopes, elephants climb quite high into the mountains, meeting in the Himalayas at the border of eternal snow, at an altitude of up to 3600 m. Elephants move quite easily through swampy terrain and climb into the mountains.

Like other large mammals, elephants are more tolerant of cold than heat. They spend the hottest part of the day in the shade, continuously flapping their ears to cool the body and improve heat exchange. They love to take baths, pouring water over themselves and rolling around in dirt and dust; These precautions protect the elephants' skin from drying out, sunburn and insect bites. For their size, elephants are surprisingly agile and agile; they have an excellent sense of balance. If necessary, they check the reliability and hardness of the soil under their feet with blows from their trunk, but thanks to the structure of their feet, they are able to move even through marshy areas. An alarmed elephant can reach speeds of up to 48 km/h; at the same time, while running, the elephant raises its tail, signaling to its relatives about danger. Elephants are also good swimmers. The elephant spends most of its time searching for food, but the elephant needs at least 4 hours a day to sleep. They do not lie on the ground; the exception is sick elephants and young animals.

Elephants are distinguished by an acute sense of smell, hearing and touch, but their vision is weak - they see poorly at a distance of more than 10 m, somewhat better in shaded places. Elephants' hearing, due to their huge ears that serve as amplifiers, is much superior to humans. The fact that elephants use infrasound to communicate over long distances was first noted by the Indian naturalist M. Krishnan. Elephants use numerous sounds, postures, and trunk gestures to communicate. Thus, a long trumpet call calls together the flock; a short, sharp, trumpet sound means fear; powerful blows on the ground with the trunk mean irritation and rage. Elephants have an extensive repertoire of calls, roars, grunts, squeals, etc., which they use to signal danger, stress, aggression and greet each other.

Nutrition and migration

Indian elephants are strict vegetarians and spend up to 20 hours a day foraging and feeding. Only during the hottest hours of the day do elephants seek shade to avoid overheating. The amount of food they eat daily ranges from 150 to 300 kg of various vegetation, or 6-8% of the elephant’s body weight. Elephants eat mainly grass; they also eat in some quantities the bark, roots and leaves of various plants, as well as flowers and fruits. Elephants tear off long grass, leaves and shoots with their flexible trunk; if the grass is short, they first loosen and dig up the soil with kicks. The bark from large branches is scraped off with molars, holding the branch with the trunk. Elephants willingly destroy agricultural crops, as a rule, rice, bananas and sugar cane, thus being the largest “pests” of agriculture.

The digestive system of the Indian elephant is quite simple; a capacious cylindrical stomach allows you to “store” food while symbiont bacteria ferment it in the intestines. The total length of the small and large intestines of the Indian elephant reaches 35 m. The digestion process takes about 24 hours; at the same time, only 44-45% of the food is actually absorbed. An elephant requires at least 70-90 (up to 200) liters of water per day, so they never move away from water sources. Like African elephants, they often dig in the ground in search of salt.

Due to the large amount of food they consume, elephants rarely feed in the same place for more than 2-3 days in a row. They are not territorial, but stick to their feeding areas, which reach 15 km2 for males and 30 km2 for gregarious females, increasing in size during the dry season. In the past, elephants made long seasonal migrations ( full circle migration sometimes took up to 10 years), as well as movements between water sources, but human activity made such movements impossible, limiting the elephants’ stay to national parks and reserves.

Social structure and reproduction

Wild Indian elephants are social animals. Although adult males are often solitary, females always form family groups consisting of the matriarch (the most experienced female), her daughters, sisters and cubs, including immature males. Sometimes there is one old male next to the herd. In the 19th century elephant herds, as a rule, consisted of 30-50 individuals, although there were also herds of up to 100 or more heads. Currently, herds consist primarily of 2-10 females and their offspring. The herd may temporarily break up into smaller groups that maintain contact through characteristic vocalizations containing low-frequency components. Small groups (less than 3 adult females) have been found to be more stable than large ones. Several small herds can form the so-called. clan.

Males usually lead a solitary lifestyle; only young males who have not reached sexual maturity form temporary groups not associated with female groups. Adult males only approach the herd when one of the females is in estrus. At the same time, they arrange mating fights; Most of the time, however, males are quite tolerant of each other, and their feeding territories often overlap. By the age of 15-20 years, males usually reach sexual maturity, after which they annually enter a state known as must (Urdu for "intoxication"). This period is characterized by very high testosterone levels and, as a result, aggressive behavior. During must, an odorous black secretion containing pheromones is released from a special skin gland located between the ear and eye. Males even produce copious amounts of urine. In this state they are very excited, dangerous and can even attack a person. The must lasts up to 60 days; all this time, the males practically stop feeding and wander around in search of females in heat. It is curious that in African elephants must is less pronounced and first appears at a later age (from 25 years of age).

Reproduction can occur at any time of the year, regardless of the season. Females are in estrus for only 2-4 days; A complete estrous cycle lasts about 4 months. Males join the herd after mating fights - as a result, only mature dominant males are allowed to breed. Fights sometimes lead to serious injuries to opponents and even death. The winning male drives away other males and remains with the female for about 3 weeks. In the absence of females, young male elephants often exhibit homosexual behavior.

Elephants have the longest pregnancy among mammals; it lasts from 18 to 21.5 months, although the fetus is fully developed by 19 months and then only increases in size. The female brings 1 (rarely 2) cub weighing about 90-100 kg and height (at the shoulders) about 1 m. It has tusks about 5 cm long, which fall out by the age of 2, when milk teeth are replaced by adult ones. During calving, the remaining females surround the woman in labor, forming a protective circle. Soon after giving birth, the female defecates so that the baby remembers the smell of her feces. The baby elephant stands on its feet 2 hours after birth and immediately begins to suckle milk; the female, using her trunk, “sprays” dust and earth onto it, drying the skin and masking its smell from large predators. After a few days, the cub is already able to follow the herd, holding onto the tail of its mother or older sister with its trunk. All lactating females in the herd are involved in feeding the baby elephant. Milk feeding continues until 18-24 months, although the baby elephant begins to eat plant foods after 6-7 months. Elephants also eat their mother's feces - with their help, not only undigested nutrients are transferred to them, but also symbiotic bacteria that help digest cellulose. Mothers continue to care for their offspring for several more years. Young elephants begin to separate from the family group by the age of 6-7 years and are finally expelled by 12-13 years.

The rate of growth, maturation and life expectancy of elephants is comparable to that of humans. Female Indian elephants reach sexual maturity at the age of 10-12 years, although they become capable of bearing offspring by the age of 16, and reach adult size only by the age of 20. Males become capable of reproducing by the age of 10-17 years, but competition with older males keeps them from reproducing. At this age, young males leave their native herd; females, as a rule, remain there for their entire lives. The onset of sexual maturity, as well as estrus in mature females, can be inhibited by unfavorable conditions - periods of drought or severe overcrowding. Under the most favorable conditions, the female is able to bear offspring every 3-4 years. During her life, the female gives birth to an average of 4 litters. The period of greatest fertility is between 25 and 45 years.

Savannah African elephant

The African savannah elephant is characterized by a massive, heavy body; large head on a short neck; thick limbs; huge ears; upper incisors, which have turned into tusks; long muscular trunk. The body length reaches 6-7.5 m, the height at the shoulders (the highest point of the body) is 2.4-3.5 m. The average body weight in females is 2.8 tons, in males - 5 tons.

Sexual dimorphism is expressed not only in body weight, but also in the size of the tusks - in males they are much larger: their length is 2.4-2.5 m and weighs up to 60 kg. The largest known tusk reached 4.1 m and weighed 148 kg, but the heaviest tusks were those of an elephant killed in 1898 near Kilimanjaro - 225 kg each. The tusks continue to grow throughout the elephant's life and serve as an indicator of its age. In addition to the tusks, the elephant has only 4-6 molars, which are replaced during life as they wear out. When replaced, new teeth grow not under the old ones, but further on the jaw, gradually pushing the old teeth forward. The molars are very large, weighing up to 3.7 kg with a length of 30 cm and a width of 10 cm. They change 3 times during the life of an elephant: at 15 years old, milk teeth are replaced by permanent teeth, the next change of teeth occurs at 30 and 40 years. The last teeth wear out by 65-70 years, after which the animal loses the ability to eat normally and dies from exhaustion.

In the African elephant, the trunk ends in 2 processes, dorsal and ventral. The usual length of the trunk is about 1.5 m, weight - 135 kg. Thanks to a complex system of muscles and tendons, the trunk has great mobility and strength. With its help, an elephant is able to both pick up a small object and lift a load weighing 250-275 kg. An elephant's trunk can hold 7.5 liters of water.

Huge ears (1.2-1.5 m long from base to top) are an evolutionary adaptation to a hot climate. Due to their large area and developed blood supply, they help the elephant get rid of excess heat. Moving their ears, elephants fan themselves with them like a fan.

The pattern of veins on the surface of an elephant's ears is as individual as a person's fingerprints. It can be used to identify an elephant. Holes and tears on the edges of the ears also help in identification.

The skin, painted dark gray, reaches a thickness of 2-4 cm and is cut by a network of wrinkles. Young elephants are covered with dark hair, which fades with age; only at the end of the tail remains a long black tassel. Despite its thickness, elephant skin is sensitive to various injuries and insect bites and needs regular care. To protect it from the sun and insects, elephants take dust and mud baths, and also swim in ponds.

Tail length - 1-1.3 m; the number of caudal vertebrae is up to 26 (less than that of the Indian elephant). There are 5 hooves on the hind limbs, the number of hooves on the front limbs varies from 4 to 5. The peculiar structure of the soles (a special springy mass located under the skin) makes the gait of elephants almost silent. Thanks to it, elephants are able to move through swampy terrain: when the animal stretches its leg out of the quagmire, the sole takes the shape of a cone narrowing downwards; when stepping, the sole flattens under the weight of the body, increasing the area of ​​support.

The African elephant is distinguished from the Asian elephant (Elephus maximus) by its larger size, darker color, “saddle” on the back, long tusks in elephants of both sexes, and two appendages at the end of the trunk. The Asian elephant is characterized by two protuberances on its forehead, while the African elephant has a smooth, less convex forehead and is cut back.

Historically, the African elephant's range extended throughout sub-Saharan Africa. In ancient times, it (or a separate species Loxodonta pharaonensis) was also found in North Africa, but completely died out in the 6th century. AD At present, the range, which was almost continuous in the past, is greatly fragmented, especially in West Africa. The area of ​​distribution of elephants decreased from 30 million km2 to 5.3 million km2 (2003). The African elephant has become completely extinct in Burundi, Gambia and Mauritania. Northern border the range extends approximately along 16.4° N latitude; an isolated population persists further north in Mali. Despite their wide distribution area, elephants are mainly concentrated in national parks and reserves.

The smaller jungle elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) has now been classified as a separate species, Loxodonta cyclotis, based on genomic studies and morphological and behavioral differences. Presumably, the two species of the genus Loxodonta diverged at least 2.5 million years ago, but they can interbreed and produce hybrids. In the International Red Book lists, both species of African elephants appear under common name Loxodonta africana. The identification of a third species, the East African elephant, is in doubt.

They inhabit a wide variety of landscapes (with the exception of tropical forests and deserts) up to 3660 m above sea level; occasionally found up to 4570 m above sea level. The main requirements for habitat are: availability of food, shade and fresh water, from which elephants, however, can travel more than 80 km.

They are active both during the day and at night, but activity decreases during the hottest hours. In areas with high activity, people switch to a nocturnal lifestyle. According to observations during the day, the African elephant spends 13% of its time resting, 74% on feeding, 11% on transitions and 2% on other activities. Peak feeding occurs in the morning.

Elephants have poor vision (at a distance of no more than 20 m), but they have an excellent sense of smell and hearing. Communication uses a large number of visual signals and touches, as well as a wide repertoire of vocalizations, including the well-known loud trumpet sounds. Research has shown that elephant calls contain infrasonic components (14-35 Hz), making them audible over long distances (up to 10 km). In general, the cognitive and perceptual abilities of African elephants are less well studied than those of Asian elephants.

Despite their massive build, elephants are surprisingly agile. They swim well or move along the bottom of a reservoir with only their trunk above the water. They usually move at a speed of 2-6 km/h, but for a short time they can reach speeds of up to 35-40 km/h. Elephants sleep standing up, gathered together in a dense group; only the cubs lie on their sides on the ground. Sleep lasts about 40 minutes.

Nutrition and migration

They feed on plant foods: leaves, branches, shoots, bark and roots of trees and shrubs; The proportions of feed depend on the habitat and time of year. During the wet season, most of the diet consists of herbaceous plants such as papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) and cattail (Typha augustifolia). Old elephants feed mainly on swamp vegetation, which is less nutritious but softer; for this reason, dead elephants are often found in swamps (hence the legend about “elephant cemeteries” where they come to die). Elephants need daily watering and during the dry season they sometimes dig holes in the beds of dry rivers to collect water from aquifers. These watering holes are used not only by elephants, but also by other animals, including buffalos and rhinoceroses. Each day, one elephant consumes from 100 to 300 kg of food (5% of its own weight) and drinks 100-220 liters of water. Forest elephants, which feed on fruits, usually receive the necessary liquid with food, only going to water bodies in the dry season. African elephants also need salt, which is either found on licks or dug out of the ground.

In search of food and water, the African elephant can travel up to 500 km; On average, it covers a distance of about 12 km per day. In the past, the length of seasonal migrations of African elephants reached 300 km. Almost all elephant migrations followed a general pattern: at the beginning of the rainy season - from permanent bodies of water; in the dry season - back. Off-season, shorter migrations occurred between water and food sources. The animals followed their usual routes, leaving behind clearly visible trampled paths. Currently, migrations of African elephants are limited due to increased human activity, as well as the concentration of the bulk of the elephant population in protected areas.

Elephants lead a nomadic lifestyle. They travel in stable groups, which in the past reached 400 animals. The herd usually contains 9-12 animals belonging to the same family: an old female (matriarch), her offspring and older daughters with immature cubs. The female matriarch determines the direction of the nomadic movement; decides when the herd should feed, rest or bathe. She leads the herd until she is 50-60 years old, after which she is succeeded by the oldest female. Sometimes the family also includes one of the matriarch's sisters and her offspring. Males are usually expelled or leave the herd when they reach sexual maturity (9-15 years), after which they lead a solitary lifestyle, sometimes gathering in temporary herds. Males contact matriarchal families only during estrus of one of the females. When a family gets too big, it splits up. Herds may be temporarily united (Serengeti, Tanzania); observations have shown that some African elephant families have special relationships and spend significant time together. In general, elephants are sociable and do not avoid each other.

Research in Lake Manyara National Park (Tanzania) has shown that individual elephant families stick to certain areas rather than roaming throughout the park. While not territorial, elephants, however, stick to their feeding areas, which in favorable conditions vary from 15 to 50 km 2. The home ranges of single males are much larger, up to 1500 km2. The largest areas are recorded for elephants from Kaokoveld (Namibia), where annual precipitation is only 320 mm: 5800–8700 km 2 . Communication within the herd takes many forms, including vocalizations, touch, and a variety of postures. Collective behavior includes joint care of offspring and protection from predators. Family members are extremely attached to each other. Thus, when elephants from the same family unite after several days of separation, their meeting is accompanied by a welcoming ceremony, which sometimes lasts up to 10 minutes. At the same time, elephants demonstrate great excitement: they make loud cries, intertwine their trunks and cross their tusks, flapping their ears, urinating, etc. If the separation was short, the ceremony is reduced to ear flapping, trumpet "greetings" and trunk touching. There are cases when elephants led wounded relatives away from danger, supporting them on their sides. Elephants apparently have some idea of ​​death - judging by their behavior, they, unlike other animals, recognize the corpses and skeletons of their relatives.

Fights in the herd are rare. Elephants demonstrate dominance and aggression by raising their heads and trunks, straightening their ears, digging their feet into the ground, shaking their heads and making demonstrative attacks on the enemy. Fights are usually limited to pushing and crossing tusks; only during fights for a female can males inflict serious and fatal wounds on each other with their tusks. A subordinate position is indicated by lowered head and ears.

Reproduction

Breeding is not associated with a specific season, but most calving occurs in the middle of the rainy season. During dry periods or in crowded habitats, sexual activity decreases and females do not ovulate. Males wander in search of females in estrus, staying with them for no more than a few weeks. Estrus in female elephants lasts about 48 hours, during which time she calls males with cries. Usually, before mating, the male and female are removed from the herd for some time.

Elephants have the longest pregnancy among mammals - 20-22 months. The female brings 1 developed cub; Twins are rare (only 1-2% of births). A newborn elephant calf weighs 90-120 kg with a shoulder height of about 1 m; Its trunk is short and there are no tusks. Childbirth occurs at a distance from the rest of the herd; Often a female giving birth is accompanied by a "midwife". 15-30 minutes after birth, the baby elephant rises to its feet and can follow its mother. Until the age of 4, he needs maternal care; he is also looked after by young immature females 2-11 years old, who thus prepare for the role of mother. Research in Amboseli (Kenya, 1992) showed that the more "nannies" who care for the offspring, the more cubs survive. Milk feeding lasts up to 1.5-5 years, although cubs begin to eat solid food already at the age of 6 months and are able to completely switch to it by 2 years. Childbirth occurs once every 2.5-9 years; the baby elephant usually stays with its mother until the next birth. A study of elephants in Addo National Park (South Africa, 2000) showed that 95% of mature elephants under 49 years of age are pregnant or nursing offspring. Young females remain in their herd for life, males leave it upon reaching maturity, which usually occurs between 10 and 12 years. Elephants exhibit the greatest diversity in timing of sexual maturity among mammals: the minimum recorded age for females is 7 years. In unfavorable conditions, females reach sexual maturity at 18-19 or even 22 years. The peak of fertility also varies greatly depending on the habitat: from the age of 18-19 years (Luangwa River valley, Zambia) to 31-35 years (Northern Bunyoro, Uganda). Elephants remain fertile until they are 55-60 years old, giving birth to 1-9 cubs throughout their lives. In males, sexual maturity occurs at 10-12 years, but due to competition with older males, they begin to mate only at the age of 25-30 years, reaching a reproductive peak by 40-50 years. From the age of 25, males periodically enter a state of must (musth - “intoxication” in Urdu), characterized by increased aggressiveness and sexual activity. In general, elephants demonstrate greater reproductive flexibility: under unfavorable conditions (poor feeding conditions, food competition from other species, overcrowding), the time of onset of sexual maturity is prolonged and the interval between births increases, and vice versa.

Lifespan

African elephants live to be 60-70 years old, continuing to grow slowly throughout their lives. In captivity, their age reached 80 years. The age of an elephant can be determined by its size (relative to the matriarch of the herd), the length of its tusks, and the wear of its teeth. Due to their size, adult elephants have no natural enemies; elephant calves under 2 years of age are attacked by lions, leopards, crocodiles and occasionally hyenas. There are known cases of clashes between elephants, especially males, and rhinoceroses. About half of young elephants die before age 15; then the mortality rate in the population drops to 3-3.5% annually and after 45 years it rises again. An elephant's lifespan is limited by the degree of wear of its molars; When the last teeth fall out, the elephant loses the ability to chew food normally and dies of starvation. Causes of death also include accidents, injuries and illnesses; elephants suffer from arthritis, tuberculosis and blood diseases (septicemia). Overall, humans are the only predator that has a major impact on elephant populations.

Role in the ecosystem

Due to their size, elephants have a significant impact on environment. It is estimated that to feed one elephant for a year, vegetation is needed from an area of ​​about 5 km2. When feeding, elephants often cut down trees to get to the top branches and leaves, strip the bark from the trunks, destroy grass and shrubs, and trample the soil, which leads to erosion and desertification of the landscape. In place of the tree and shrub vegetation they destroy, dry grass steppes appear, unsuitable for herbivores and the elephants themselves. At the same time, elephants help disperse plant seeds that pass through them. digestive tract undigested, particularly African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum). Many small animals find refuge in the pits dug by elephants in search of salt. In the past, the length of annual elephant migrations reached many hundreds of kilometers, and damaged vegetation had time to recover. However, at present, when elephant migrations are severely limited by the fragmentation of their range, human economic activities and the concentration of a significant part of elephants in national parks, their growing population can cause serious damage to vegetation.

African forest elephant

The average height of a forest elephant at the withers is 2.40 m. Thus, it is significantly smaller than elephants living in the savannah. Also, the forest elephant has thicker brown hair and rounded ears. As its name suggests, the African forest elephant lives in the tropical forests of Africa and plays an important role in dispersing the seeds of many plants.

Squad Calloused

Systematic position

Animal Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata Chordata

Subphylum Cranial (Vertebrates) Vertebrata (Craniata)

Superclass Tetrapoda

Class Mammals Mammalia

Subclass Real Beasts Theria

Infraclass Placental ( Supreme Beasts) Eutheria

Order Artiodactyla Artiodactyla

Suborder CallopodsTylopoda

Family Camelidae

Camel genus Paracamelus

Bactrian species (Bactrian camel) Camelus bactrianus

Species Dromedar (dromedary camel) Camelus dromedarius

Genus Vicugna

Species Vicugna Vicugna vicugna

View of Alpaca Vicugna pacos

Clan Lama Lama

Species of Guanaco Lama guanicoe

View of Lama - Lama glama

About 40 million years ago in the then subtropical forests North America lived an inconspicuous animal, Protylopus, which, judging by its fossil remains, looked like a hare. From this distant ancestor came many different animals that continued to evolve, leading to the appearance of the mammal we know as the camel four million years ago. Some of these species migrated in a northwesterly direction and, through the isthmus at the site of the present Bering Strait, spread throughout Asia and Africa, settling in areas that, by the nature of the landscape and climate, are among the most severe on our planet.

About two million years ago, some of the species that remained in North America and by this time had evolved into the predecessors of modern llamas, alpacas and vicuñas, reached the South American Andes and adapted to life in the highlands, where the air is thin and always cold; and their relatives in North America, meanwhile, became extinct.

Genus Camels

Camelus unites medium and large ungulates, with a body length of 220-340 cm, tail length of 55-75 cm, height at the withers of 180-210 cm. Weight ranges from 450 to 650 kg.

The forelimbs have an undivided sole. Long hind limbs with highly developed knee calluses. The tail is long with a tuft of hair at the end. The neck is curved. The eyes are large with heavy lids. The ears are small, round, completely covered with hair. The slit-like nostrils are capable of closing. The upper lip is deeply divided. A groove runs from the nostrils to the upper lip.

On the back there are one or two humps of skin formed by adipose tissue. When a camel is well-fed, its hump sticks up, but when it is emaciated, it hangs to the side. The color of the hair varies from dark brown to gray. Elongated hair is present on the head, neck, humps, thighs and tip of the tail; the rest of the body is covered with dense hair about 50 mm high. On the back of the head in males and females there is a pair of specific skin glands approximately 6 cm in diameter.

Camels are widespread in the wild in the Trans-Altai Gobi in Mongolia and, possibly, in adjacent areas of China. Domestic camels are bred in Africa, on the Arabian Peninsula, in the Front, Malaya and Central Asia, in the southwestern United States.

They live in steppes and semi-deserts, but prefer shrubby and gravelly deserts. They apparently feed in the morning and evening, and rest in the middle of the day and at night.

Wild camels are found alone or in pairs, but more often in groups of 4-6. Herds of 12-15 heads are rare. The maximum running speed is about 16 km/h. Tolerates heat and cold well. At high temperatures and dry food cannot remain without water for a long time. Drinks brackish and even salt water. Can drink up to 57 liters of water at one time. Eats almost everything that grows in the desert. Requires halophytes, without which it loses mass. The rut occurs in winter - in January - February. The only cub is born in March. Pregnancy lasts 370-440 days. By the end of the first day after birth, the baby moves almost freely. The lactation period is about a year.

Bactrian

Bactrian (lat. Camelus bactrianus) or Bactrian camel is a species of mammal from the camelid family. It is common in Asia as a pet for carrying cargo, but its wild populations are extremely small and endangered. In some taxonomies, wild Bactrians are classified as a separate species, Camelus ferus. Contents [remove]

Bactrians are easily distinguished from dromedaries by their two humps. Their length reaches 3 meters, and the height at the withers ranges from 180 to 230 cm. Average weight Bactriana ranges from 450 to 500 kg. The tail is relatively short, its length is only about 45 cm. The color of the coat varies from sandy gray to dark brown, and the most long hair are located on the front and back sides of the neck. During the winter, Bactrians have very thick and long hair, and as the temperature rises, it falls off so quickly that these animals often make a ragged impression. Representatives of wild populations differ from domesticated animals, among other things, in that their coat is lighter and thinner, their body is slimmer and their humps are sharper.

Among the Bactrians long neck, on which the elongated head is located. The upper lip is forked, and the eyes are framed by long eyelashes to protect them from winds and sand. Bactrians, like dromedaries, are able to close their nostrils. The feet, like all camelids, have two toes, resting not on the hooves, but on the callous layer. The stomach consists of three chambers that facilitate the digestion of plant foods.

Contrary to popular belief, humps do not serve to store water, but to store fat. In addition, Bactrians have some features that allow them to survive in regions unsuitable for life. The greatly elongated nephrons in the kidneys cause high concentrations of urine. The feces are also much more concentrated than those of other mammals. Another feature is red blood cells, which are not round, but oval in shape. Thanks to this, Bactrians can drink a lot of water in a short time without risking so-called hyperhydration. The body temperature of Bactrians fluctuates significantly more than that of most other mammals. Its fluctuations can be up to 8 °C, which reduces the risk of overheating of the body, as well as sweating.

Spreading

The original range of Bactrian camels extended throughout almost all of Central Asia, including northeastern China. Already in the third millennium BC, the domestication of these animals began, which are used for transporting goods until today. The total population of Bactrian camels living in captivity is estimated at 2.5 million. They are found from Asia Minor to Manchuria. The northern border of its range reaches Omsk and Lake Baikal, that is, 55° northern latitude.

Wild populations were increasingly reduced as a result of hunting. In 2003, the WWC estimated that there were only 950 wild individuals in three distinct population groups. One of them lives in the Taklamakan desert, another in the Lob Nor lowland in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, and the third in the Mongolian part of the Gobi Desert.

Bactrians are adapted to living in very dry areas. In the winter months they stick to rivers, and in the summer months they go to dry steppes and deserts. It is noteworthy that in their living space, temperatures fluctuate up to 70°C: from −30°C to +40°C.

Social behavior and activity time

Bactrians are active during the day and live in harem groups of about 15 animals. These groups consist of one male, several females and their offspring. There are also individuals that live alone. The average population density is five animals per 100 km².

Nutrition

Like all camels, Bactrians are herbivores, capable of consuming all types of plant foods. The digestive system of Bactrian camels resembles that of ruminants, to which they are, however, not zoologically classified. This is based primarily on the fact that the digestive systems of both groups in evolutionary terms developed independently of each other, which is manifested, among other things, in the abundance of glands in the anterior stomach of camels.

Bactrians can go many days without water and drink more than 100 liters in a matter of minutes. The mentioned characteristic features of their physiology help to economically use water in the body. In addition, Bactrians are distinguished by the ability to drink salty and stagnant water.

Reproduction

After a pregnancy lasting from twelve to fourteen months, the female gives birth to a single cub. Larger numbers are an exception. Most births occur in March and April. Newborn Bactrians stand on their feet and begin to walk within a few hours. Mother's milk bactrian camels feed for one and a half years, sexual maturity occurs at the age of three to five years. The average lifespan of these animals is about 40 years.

Dromedar

The one-humped camel (lat. Camelus dromedarius) or dromedar is a species of mammal from the camelid family. Common in many regions of Asia and Africa as a pet for carrying cargo or riding, however, its wild populations are now extinct. The name "dromedary" comes from the Greek word δρομάς, which means "running".

Unlike Bactrians, Dromedars have only one hump. Their length reaches from 2.3 to 3.4 m, and the height at the withers from 1.8 to 2.3 m. The weight of dromedaries ranges from 300 to 700 kg. The tail is relatively short, no longer than 50 cm. The coat of the dromedary camel is usually sandy in color, but other colors are also found: from white to dark brown. Upper part the heads, neck and back are covered with longer hair.

Dromedary camels have a long neck on which an elongated head is located. The upper lip is forked, and the nostrils are slit-shaped and the camel can close them if necessary. He has very long eyelashes on his eyelids. The one-horned camel has numerous calluses on its knees, feet and other parts of its body. On the legs, like all camelids, there are only two toes, crowned not with hooves, but with callus pads. The stomach consists, like its close relatives, of several chambers, which facilitates digestion with a plant diet.

Dromedary camels have the habit of scratching their bodies with their front or hind legs, and for this purpose they rub against trees. They love to wallow in the sand. They prefer desert, arid habitats with a long dry season and a short rainy season. Relocation of dromedaries to countries with other climatic conditions has not been successful because they are sensitive to cold and humidity.

Adaptation to arid climates allows dromedary camels to live in desert regions. They are able to go for a long time without drinking water, being able to store it in large quantities in their body. The hump on the back contains fat reserves, which the camel's body gradually uses for energy. Camels store liquid not in the hump, but in the stomach. The dromedary camel's kidneys extract fluid very carefully, leaving very concentrated urine. Almost all the liquid is also removed from the stool before excretion.

The body temperature of a dromedary camel drops sharply at night, and warms up slowly during the day, without causing the animal to sweat. During a particularly dry season, a dromedary camel is able to lose more than 25% of its body weight without dying of thirst or hunger. Camels drink very quickly and can compensate for all lost weight in ten minutes.

Spreading

Dromedaries are common as pets throughout North Africa and throughout the Middle East as far as India. The southern limit of their distribution range is approximately 13° north latitude, and the northernmost point of their habitat is Turkestan, where, as in Asia Minor, they are found together with Bactrians. Dromedaries have been introduced to the Balkans, southwest Africa and the Canary Islands. From 1840 to 1907, they were even imported to Australia, where to this day the descendants of released or escaped specimens live in the central regions. This population, which numbers between 50 thousand and 100 thousand individuals, is today the only large population of dromedary camels in the world living in wildlife. A population of dromedary camels that appeared in a similar way existed in the southwestern United States, but became extinct at the beginning of the 20th century.

Social behavior

Dromedaries are active during the daytime. Camels living in the wild usually form harem groups consisting of one male, several females and their offspring. Growing males often form groups of bachelors, which, however, last only a short time. Sometimes fights (biting and kicking) occur between males, in which the role of the leader in the group is determined.

Nutrition

The dromedar is a herbivore, feeding on thorny plants, dry grass and shrubs - almost everything that grows in the desert. It plucks young shoots, which make up 70% of its diet. The dromedary grazes for about 8-12 hours a day and chews food for a long time. Camels are able to reach food at a height of 3.5 m, stripping branches or eating leaves as they go. Each serving is chewed 40-50 times. While they chew the thorns, their mouths remain open. Animals have a habit of going around large areas and picking off a few leaves from each plant. This type of nutrition reduces stress on plants. In addition to plant food, dromedaries need salt (6-8 times more than other desert inhabitants) to maintain water supplies.

Reproduction

Mating occurs mainly in winter and is associated with the rainy season. The duration of pregnancy ranges from 360 to 440 days, after which, as a rule, a single baby is born; Twins are rare. Newborns can walk independently after the first day. The mother takes care of the offspring from one to two years, and the transition from milk to plant foods occurs after six months. Two years after giving birth, the female can become pregnant again.

The female reaches sexual maturity at the age of three years, in males it occurs at the age of four to six years. The average lifespan of a dromedary camel is 40 to 50 years.

Vicuna genus

The genus Vicugna - unites the smallest of the four humpless "camels", which live in divided herds: old males with a dozen females, young males in their own company. Each herd has a territory protected by the leader. When a strange male invades her, the owner gallops towards him and spits half-digested grass at him. He spits back, but usually tries not to hit the enemy if he sees that his enemy is strong. Otherwise, it will come down to the teeth - spitting is only a warning, but the teeth are sharp!

Vicunas graze high in the mountains, at the edges of snow, in the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. The vicuna's fur is finer and lighter than any other ungulate that people have ever sheared. However, the vicunas themselves were rarely clipped: they were never domesticated. However, the Indians in the Andes manage to lure the herd into a pen and shear one wild “sheep” after another. Then, having been shorn, they are released into the wild.

Vicuna

Vicugna (lat. Vicugna vicugna) is an animal from the camelid family, the only representative of the genus Vicugna. Externally, the vicuña resembles a guanaco, but is smaller and more slender.

The vicuña is 150 cm long, about a meter tall at the shoulders, and weighs 50 kg. On the back the vicuña is colored light brown, below it is lighter. The coat is noticeably finer than that of related species, and is thick enough to serve as an insulating layer against the cold. An anatomical feature of the vicuña is the lower incisor teeth, which, like rodents, constantly grow. Nothing similar is found in other artiodactyls.

Spreading

Vicunas are native to the Andes of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. They are found at altitudes from 3500 to 5500 meters. Like guanacos, vicuñas live in natal herds with clearly defined areas and led by the main male. In addition to them, there are groups of young bachelor males who, due to their immature age, are not yet able to defend their own territory. There are also lonely old males expelled from the herd by younger rivals.

Alpaca

Alpaca is a domestic artiodactyl animal descended from the vicuna (vigoni). Bred in the highlands of South America (Andes).

The height of alpacas does not exceed one meter, they weigh about 70 kilograms and have a soft and long fleece (on the sides its length reaches 15-20 cm). They live in the Andes at an altitude of 3500-5000 meters, in Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Chile and northern Bolivia.

Clan of Lama – Lama

Llamas - Lama - along with camels and vicuñas, one of the three kinds camelid family. These humpless animals are found exclusively in South America. From about the 7th millennium BC. The inhabitants of the mountainous regions began to develop methods of hunting vicuna and guanaco (a type of wild llama), which ultimately led to the domestication of these animals. Guanacos served as the basis for domestic llamas, and their crossing with vicunas led to the appearance of alpacas. There is currently one wild species of llama, the guanaco, as well as two domesticated species, the llama and the alpaca. Crossbreeding is possible among them, and animals with mixed characteristics are often found.

Lama

Lama - Lama glama - differs from alpaca in its larger size and more elongated head. Llama fur is in demand because of its fluffiness. They are bred in the highlands of South America (Andes).

They were apparently domesticated long before the Spanish first conquered South America. According to some scientists (for example, Herre-Negge, 1952), both llama and alpaca descended from guanaco.

A llama is not as strong as a donkey and not as fast as a horse. And yet, as a beast of burden, she is superior to both. A llama can carry a load weighing up to 60 kilograms on its back. If the lama feels that the load is too heavy for her, she simply sits down and does not get up until she considers that the load is within her strength. If anyone tries to make her stand up, she will regurgitate what is contained in the first of her three stomachs and spit at him with amazing accuracy and force.

In general, llamas are quite docile and, by handling them gently, a driver can lead a large caravan of llamas across rugged high mountain plateaus, where other pack animals cannot withstand the lack of oxygen. Since llamas thrive in mountainous terrain, they, as pack animals, provide indispensable assistance to people today not only in the Andes, but also in the Italian Alps.

Llamas were bred (even by the Incas) and are bred (by the Mountain Indians) because of their many valuable properties that are irreplaceable in primitive farming.

“They weave blankets and ropes from their wool, they make sandals from leather, the meat is used for food, the fat is for candles, and the droppings are for fuel” (Desmond Morris).

They carry packs on the backs of strong llamas - three-year-old males. The lama resolutely refuses to carry more than fifty kilograms. No force can force her! He lies down and doesn't go. And they will force you - he spits, kicks, bites. Better get a few off her back extra pounds- less hassle. Lines of pack llamas travel twenty to thirty kilometers a day along steep mountain paths, where there is no other transport yet.

Gunako

Guanaco - Lama guanicoe - is larger than all other calloused animals of the New World. Body length 125-225 cm, tail length 15-25 cm, height at withers 70-130 cm. Weight up to 75 kg. The neck is thin, almost straight. The profile of the muzzle is straight. The eyes are large, the upper eyelid has long eyelashes. The ears are long. The lips are not particularly large. The tail is short and has almost no hair on the lower surface. The hair is dense and soft. The vicuña has elongated hair on the front of the chest that forms a kind of mane. The color of the hair varies from reddish-yellow to brownish-reddish. The belly is whitish. On the inner and outer sides of the metatarsus there are usually exposed lancet-shaped areas of skin, rich in glands with a keratinized surface of black or gray-brown color - “chestnuts”. Nails are gray-black. Vicuna lower incisors have exposed roots, continuous growth, and enamel only on the outer surface.

Distributed in South America from Southern Ecuador to La Plata and Tierra del Fuego. They live in steppes, semi-deserts and mountains from the foothills to the snow line (up to 5 thousand m above sea level). They feed on herbaceous plants, mosses, and willingly visit salt licks and watering places, and can drink brackish or salt water. They like to stand or lie in mountain streams and swim well.

Rutting in November - February for guanacos and from April to June for vicuñas. The duration of pregnancy is 10 months for the vicuña and 11 for the guanaco. Usually one cub is born, which very quickly after birth is able to follow its mother. The lactation period is about 4 months. They begin to feed on grass already in the second week of life. Sexual maturity occurs at 1.5 or 2.5-3 years. Life expectancy is up to 15-30 years. They usually live in small groups. Guanaco herds consist of one male and 4-10 females, and vicuña herds consist of one male and 5-15 females. Capable of running quickly at speeds of up to 50-55 km/h.

It may seem that this beautiful, slender creature is pampered and requires special care. However, guanacos can usually be found in areas where the climate is quite harsh: from the mountain peaks of the Andes to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, located in southern Argentina and Chile. Living in such harsh conditions, guanacos feed on plant stems and roots and drink even poor quality water. Guanacos can swim and run at a speed of 65 kilometers per hour. Thick eyelashes protect their eyes from sun, wind and dust. Unfortunately, poachers destroyed large number these animals for their meat, skin and wool, which is softer than alpaca.

Both in the high Andes and in the lowland prairies (but not in the forests) their small herds graze: several females with cubs and one adult male. Young males, whom the old one does not allow near his herd (spits, bites very strongly), unite into larger herds.

Proboscidea (lat. Proboscidea) is a detachment of placental mammals that owe their name to their main distinguishing feature - the trunk. The only representatives of proboscis today are the elephant family (Elephantidae). The extinct families of proboscis include mastodons (Mammutidae).

Proboscideans are distinguished not only by their trunk, but also by their unique tusks, as well as the largest size among all mammals on land. These peculiarities are by no means a hindrance, but, on the contrary, highly specialized adaptations. Once upon a time, many families of proboscis lived on earth, some of which had four tusks. Today there is only a family of elephants in a very limited living space.

Proboscis formations were barely noticeable at the beginning and served the ancestors of proboscis living in swamps as a means of breathing under water. Later, the trunks, with their many muscles, developed into sensitive grasping organs, which made it possible to tear leaves from trees and grass in the steppes. Tusks during evolution reached 4 meters and had various shapes.

The African and Indian elephant are all that remain today of their many ancestors.

The head of an African elephant in profile looks sloping, in the form of a clearly defined angle; the spine rises from the head to the shoulder blades, then falls and rises again to the hips.

The Indian elephant has a pronounced brow ridge and a prominent bump on the top of its head with a cleft in the middle; the back is higher in the middle than in the area of ​​the shoulder blades and hips.

Indian elephant

A powerful, massive animal, with a large broad-browed head, short neck, powerful body and columnar legs. The Indian elephant is smaller than its African relative. Its mass does not exceed 5 tons, and its height at the shoulders is 2.5-3 m. Unlike the African elephant, only males have tusks, but they are also 2-3 times shorter than the tusks of their African relative. The ears of the Indian elephant are smaller, extended downwards and pointed.

Wild Indian elephants live in India, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Malacca, Sumatra and Sri Lanka. Due to the expansion of plantations and crops, the number of wild elephants is declining. Animals are destroyed as agricultural pests, despite the ban. The Indian elephant, like the African elephant, is included in the IUCN Red List.

The Indian elephant lives in forest thickets, usually keeping in family groups of 10-20 animals, sometimes there are herds of up to 100 or more individuals. The leader of the herd is usually an old female.

Unlike its African relative, the Indian elephant is easily tamed and easy to train. In hard-to-reach swampy areas, elephants are used as riding animals. The gazebo can accommodate 4 people on the animal’s back, not counting the mahout sitting on the elephant’s neck. Elephants are capable of carrying up to 350 kg of cargo. Trained elephants not only carry logs at logging sites, but also stack them in a certain order and load and unload barges. Indian elephants are bought by zoos and circuses around the world.

Indian elephants are smaller in size than African savanna elephants, but their size is also impressive - old individuals (males) reach a weight of 5.4 tons with a height of 2.5 - 3.5 meters. Females are smaller than males, weighing on average 2.7 tons. The smallest subspecies is from Kalimantan (weight about 2 tons). For comparison, the African savannah elephant weighs from 4 to 7 tons. The body length of the Indian elephant is 5.5-6.4 m, the tail is 1.2-1.5 m. The Indian elephant is more massive than the African elephant. The legs are thick and relatively short; the structure of the soles of the feet is reminiscent of that of the African elephant - under the skin there is a special springy mass. There are five hooves on the front legs and four on the hind legs. The body is covered with thick, wrinkled skin; Skin color ranges from dark gray to brown. The thickness of the skin of the Indian elephant reaches 2.5 cm, but is very thin on the inside of the ears, around the mouth and anus. The skin is dry and has no sweat glands, so caring for it is an important part of an elephant's life. By taking mud baths, elephants protect themselves from insect bites, sunburn and fluid loss. Dust baths, bathing and scratching on trees also play a role in skin hygiene. Indian elephants often have depigmented, pinkish areas on their body that give them a spotted appearance. Newborn elephant calves are covered with brownish hair, which fades and thins with age, but even adult Indian elephants are more covered with coarse hair than African ones.

Albinos are very rare among elephants and serve to a certain extent as an object of cult in Siam. They are usually only a little lighter and have a few even lighter spots. The best specimens were pale reddish-brown in color with a pale yellow iris and sparse white hair on the back.

The wide forehead, depressed in the middle and strongly convex on the sides, has an almost vertical position; its tubercles represent the highest point of the body (in the African elephant - the shoulders). The most characteristic feature that distinguishes the Indian elephant from the African one is the relatively smaller size of the ears. The Indian elephant's ears never rise above the level of the neck. They are medium in size, irregularly quadrangular in shape, with a slightly elongated tip and an inward-turned upper edge. The tusks (elongated upper incisors) are significantly, 2-3 times, smaller than those of the African elephant, up to 1.6 m long, weighing up to 20-25 kg. Over the course of a year of growth, the tusk increases by an average of 17 cm. They develop only in males, rarely in females. Among Indian elephants there are males without tusks, which in India are called makhna. Such males are especially common in the northeastern part of the country; The population of Sri Lanka has the largest number of tuskless elephants (up to 95%)

Just as humans are right-handed or left-handed, different elephants are more likely to use their right or left tusk. This is determined by the degree of wear of the tusk and its more rounded tip.

In addition to tusks, an elephant has 4 molars, which are replaced several times during their life as they wear out. When replaced, new teeth grow not under the old ones, but further on the jaw, gradually pushing the worn teeth forward. An Indian elephant's molars change 6 times during its life; the latter erupt at about 40 years of age. When the last teeth are worn down, the elephant loses the ability to eat normally and dies from starvation. As a rule, this occurs by age 70.

The elephant's trunk is a long process formed by the nose and upper lip fused together. A complex system of muscles and tendons gives it great flexibility and mobility, allowing the elephant to manipulate even small objects, and its volume allows it to draw up to 6 liters of water. The septum (septum), which divides the nasal cavity, also consists of numerous muscles. The elephant's trunk is devoid of bones and cartilage; a single piece of cartilage is found at its end, dividing the nostrils. Unlike the African elephant, the trunk ends in a single dorsal digitiform process.

The differences between the Indian elephant and the African elephant are a lighter color, medium-sized tusks, which are found only in males, small ears, a convex humpbacked back without a “saddle,” two bulges on the forehead and a single finger-like process at the end of the trunk. Differences in the internal structure also include 19 pairs of ribs instead of 21, like in the African elephant, and structural features of the molars - transverse dentin plates in each tooth in the Indian elephant from 6 to 27, which is more than in the African elephant. There are 33 caudal vertebrae, instead of 26. The heart often has a double apex. Females can be distinguished from males by two mammary glands located on the chest. The elephant's brain is the largest among land animals and reaches a weight of 5 kg.

What are proboscis mammals? Representatives of these animals appeared millions of years ago. Find out how many species exist now and what they are.

Proboscis mammals

The word “proboscis” usually brings up only a few associations - elephants and mammoths. And this is correct, because the Proboscis order includes only the elephant family. Proboscis mammals appeared in equatorial Africa approximately 45 million years ago. Then their range expanded to Africa, Eurasia, North and South America. Mastodons and mammoths are considered their distant ancestors.

Currently, elephants are common in Southeast Asia and Africa. They live in savannas and tropical forests. They are also real long-livers. Elephants die at the age of 60-80 years. They live in groups consisting of several females and young. Males only occasionally join them in order to find a partner for mating.

They can travel hundreds of kilometers for food. Elephants eat up to 500 kilograms of plant food per day and drink up to 300 liters of water. At the same time, animals absorb no more than 40% of food. The diet is based on leaves, grass, fruits and tree bark.

Structural features

Their size is impressive. Elephants are huge herbivores with an average height of 2.5 to 4 meters and a length of up to 4.5 meters. Proboscis mammals have a gigantic body, a large head, and big ears. Leather gray covered with sparse vegetation and fine wrinkles.

Huge ears help cope with heat by regulating the intake and release of heat in the body. Additional cooling occurs when the ears flap. Thanks to these powerful locators, elephants are excellent at distinguishing sounds at a frequency of 1 kHz.

Their incisor teeth are greatly enlarged and are called tusks. For humans they are valuable material, so animals are often killed for ivory. Despite their impressive size, elephants walk quietly and softly due to the fatty pads on their feet, which increase the area of ​​the foot.

Why does an elephant need a trunk?

The trunk is an important and irreplaceable organ of elephants. It was formed by the connection of the upper lip and nose. Equipped with muscles and tendons that allow the animal to use it instead of arms. Using this powerful and flexible tool, proboscis mammals can drag branches, logs, and pick fruits from trees.

The trunk also works as a sensory organ. The nostrils located at its end help to smell odors. Thanks to the sensitivity of the trunk, elephants feel objects to recognize them. At a watering hole, they suck up water with their trunk and then put it into their mouth. The sounds produced by this organ allow elephants to communicate.

Types of elephants

Elephants are represented by only three species - African savannah, Indian, and forest. The latter is dwarf in size compared to its brothers, reaching only two and a half meters in height. The body of the animal is covered with thicker brown hair. It has round ears, which is why it is nicknamed round-eared. Together with the savanna elephant, the forest elephant is listed in the Red Book.

The African savanna resident is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest mammal in the world. The length of his body sometimes reaches seven meters, and the height at the shoulders is four. The average weight of males reaches 7 tons, and that of females is two tons less. They live mainly in reservations and national parks, some are common in the desert regions of Namibia and Mali, which is why they are called desert elephants.

Indian, or slightly smaller in size than savannah. Its usual habitats are bamboo thickets, tropical and deciduous forests. It is the only member of the Indian elephant genus and is considered an endangered species. There are several of its subspecies living in Sri Lanka, Sumatra, India, China, Cambodia, and the island of Borneo.

Characteristics of the squad. Proboscideans include large mammals. They got their name because of the trunk formed from the fusion of an elongated nose and upper lip.

Elephants. There are two known species of elephants: African and Asian. The African elephant is larger than the Asian elephant, has a height of 3.5 m and weighs more than 5 tons. Elephants are the largest of all land animals; they live in tropical forests: the African elephant is in Central Africa, and the Asian elephant is in India and on the islands of Ceylon and Sumatra. Each of the five toes of the elephant's massive columnar foot is covered with a thin horny hoof. The main weight of the Body falls on a hard and at the same time elastic pillow located under the hand and under the foot. Thanks to this, the elephant moves quickly and silently, despite the bulkiness of its body. It is almost completely hairless: thick skin protects the elephant from the bites of blood-sucking insects.

The elephant's trunk has great flexibility and strength. The nostrils are located at the end of the trunk, and there is also a fleshy and sensitive finger-like outgrowth. With a short, inactive neck and a massive head, the importance of a long trunk in the life of an elephant is enormous: it uses its trunk to obtain food and water. The elephant detects small objects using the finger-like outgrowth of its trunk.

An elephant has tusks in its upper jaw, but not in its lower jaw. Tusks are modified and constantly growing incisors. With them the elephant rips off the bark and, if necessary, digs the ground. The African elephant's tusks reach a length of 2 m and a weight of about 80 kg. They are present in both males and females. Asian elephants only have tusks on males. Beautiful artistic products are carved from the very dense substance of the tusks - “ivory”. For the sake of these tusks, elephants have now been greatly exterminated.

In addition to tusks, elephants have a huge molar on each half of the upper and lower jaw. There are no fangs. Every day, an elephant grinds several tens of kilograms of coarse plant food - branches and leaves - with its molars. Every 10-15 years, old, worn teeth are replaced with new ones. The growing tooth displaces the old one and gradually takes its place. In the life of an elephant there are about 6 changes of teeth. An elephant lives 60-80 years.

Once every 3-4 years, the female brings one furry cub. After a few days, he can already follow his mother. Asian elephants They are easily tamed, although, as a rule, they do not reproduce in captivity. In captivity, elephants are obedient and perform a variety of jobs.

Mammoth. In distant eras, proboscideans were more numerous. In Europe and North America, bones and teeth of elephant-like animals - mammoths - are found. In the permafrost zone of Siberia and Alaska, even their frozen corpses are found. The mammoth's body was covered with thick, long hair. On treeless plains, mammoths foraged for plants even in winter, shoveling snow with their huge tusks. The world's only stuffed mammoth is on display at the zoological museum in Russia.